From Bernhard.Helander@antro.uu.seFri Feb 24 23:35:42 1995 Date: Sat, 13 Aug 1994 19:04:58 +0200 From: Bernhard Helander To: pauls@css.itd.umich.edu Subject: Somalia News Update, No 21 In this issue: * THE SECURITY COUNCIL'S POSTPONED DELIBERATIONS * SOMALI REFUGEES IN KENYA * THE SSDF CONGRESS: STILL WAITING TO TAKE PLACE ____________________________________________________________________ S O M A L I A N E W S U P D A T E ____________________________________________________________________ Vol 3, No 21 August 13, 1994. ISSN 1103-1999 ____________________________________________________________________ Somalia News Update is published irregularly via electronic mail and fax. Questions can be directed to Bernhard.Helander@antro.uu.se or to fax number +46-18-151160. All SNU marked material is free to quote as long as the source is clearly stated. ____________________________________________________________________ THE SECURITY COUNCIL'S POSTPONED DELIBERATIONS (SNU, Washington, August 12) - The Security Council, originally scheduled to meet on July 29, is expected to meet on Tuesday next week to decide on the future of UNOSOM. The Secretary-General pre- empted the earlier meeting by announcing that he was sending a special mission to Somalia, which would assess the possibilities to a troop reduction and return with specific recommendations. The Security Council agreed to postpone action until the return of the five-man mission. The mission, led by Major-General Timothy Dibuama, returned last Friday and submitted a report to the Secretary-General on Monday. In it they reflected the opinion of the SRSG in Somalia, Victor Gbeho, that anything more than a marginal troop reduction would erode UNOSOM's ability to defend itself and hold major installations like the port and airport. The team's report was integrated into an overall report that was submitted to the Security Council on Friday. Informal discussions within the Security Council have proceeded, however. There is said to be heated debate, with disagreement over the "threshold" of troop reduction in Somalia. The US delegate is reported to have asked hard questions about the state of the Somali police force, to which donors have given so much aid, in the aftermath of the attack on Zimbabwean troops in Beled Weyn on July 30, in which Zimbabwean troops were stripped of weapons and personal belongings by an attacking Habar Gedir-based militia, and one soldier shot and killed. Other factors that may affect the credibility of the police force is the UNOSOM evacuation of its staff from the peaceful town of Bosaaso in the Northeast following attacks by the local police force. In addition, fighting is reported from the Jilib area between Ogadeen forces and the Habar Gedir clan. Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe said on Friday at an official rally in Harare that the international community could not keep peace keepers in Somalia indefinitely and urged its warring factions to settle their differences quickly. According to officials who have seen the report from Mogadishu, SRSG Victor Gbeho has made a strong plea to the Security Council for extending the mandate; he is said to have argued that there appears to be an opportunity for a Pan-Hawiye reconciliation in the coming month, and believes that if the conflict among the Hawiye clans can be resolved, national reconciliation and the establishment of a Transitional National Council (TNC) is possible by the end of the year. These remarks come slightly surprising, not least in view of the Secretary-General's June report which stressed that the TNC was no longer on the agenda and also with regards to the past few months escaliting intra-Hawiye fighting. One factor that was expected to play a role in the debate on UNOSOM was the disposition of US Marines currently guarding the US Liaison Office (USLO) compound in Mogadishu. Department of Defence was attempting to have them withdrawn from Somalia by August 15, on the grounds that they were needed elsewhere (the 50 man unit is one of the elite "FAST" platoons (Fleet Anti-Terrorist Support team). The State Department argued it could not keep the Liaison Office open without FAST protection. Somalia News Update has learned that, in reality, the issue was over who would foot the bill -- the Defence department was paying $150,000 a month for the team to stay in Mogadishu, and has lately been protesting strongly against peacekeeping operations being paid for out of the defence budget. There was a real concern within the UN that if the US pulled its Liaison office out, other contributing countries would withdraw their troops. A compromise was worked out -- the Marines will stay on until September 30, with the Department of Defence paying; thereafter, a Congressional amendment calls for their withdrawal by the new fiscal year, October 31. "Secretary Perry and Secretary Christopher have held discussions concerning the Marine presence, and they are in agreement that the FAST presence will remain in Mogadishu as long as they are needed by the USLO staff", Pentagon spokesman Dennis Boxx told reporters on Tuesday. SOMALI REFUGEES IN KENYA By Haidar O. Mohamed "Every Somali is waiting for the final bullet, and we really do not know where it will be coming from", said Abdiweli Haji Libaah, a Somali refugee at Utanga Camp, near Mombassa, Kenya. Abdiweli is among thousands of Somali refugees in limbo. Their fate is not yet known despite daily threats of involuntary repatriation by the Kenyan Government. Negotiations between the Kenyan authorities and UNHCR are still underway and it has been reported that the Kenyan Government has lately exerted considerable pressure on the NGOs working with the Somali refugees to finalize all logistic arrangements for the final repatriation and resettlement of the first batch of the Somali refugees stranded in Utanga and Miraafo Refugee Camps, Coast Province, Kenya. However, the problem is with the UNHCR's choice of destinations. UNHCR would like to resettle the Utanga and Miraafo refugees to Hagardheer and Ifo Camps in Garrisa District, Kenya respectively despite their disapproval in accepting these choices due to reported cases of violence involving rape, killings and torture by some local gangs - shiftas - who have been terrorizing previous refugees living in those camps. Although 1,264 tired Somali men, women and children crossed the Kenya-Somali border in Mandera in the darkness of Wednesday night, March 9, 1994, in one of the largest repatriations conducted by the United Nations in Africa - this being only 40 percent of the total number of refugees in Mandera Camp - many still live in fear and are still unwilling to return to their dilapidated villages which they deserted more than two years ago. These returnees, with their belongings and food estimated to last them three months, were escorted by the UNHCR officials. Security was provided by the UN soldiers in Somalia. However, there will still be some 200,000 refugees from Somalia and Ethiopia in Ifo, Hagardheer and Dhagahley camps in Garrisa District, Kenya. This is one of the largest refugee camps in Africa, according to Mr Ahmed Warsame, the officer in charge of the UNHCR office in Mandera. The other major reason of the refugees' reluctance to accept these choices is lack of communication which is vital to many refugees who periodically wait for information or money remitted by their relatives or friends from Europe, North America, Middle East and Australia. It is roughly estimated that over 2.8 million Kenyan shillings ( 50,000 US Dollars) is remitted to the Somali Refugees living in Mombassa area alone every month. The bulk of these transactions pass through various Kenyan Banking institutions which make a considerable amount of money in commission and service charges in hard currency. But there is the darker side of the story too. Ever since the influx of the Somali Refugees to Kenya in April 1991, inflation has hit through the roof. The price of essential commodities like sugar and rice have skyrocketed from KSh 20 per Kilo and KSh 15 per kilo to KSh 45/kilo and KSh 30/kilo respectively. Renting a moderate one bedroom apartment would cost a Kenyan resident KSh 6000 as compared to KSh 2000 just three years ago, an amount that very few middle class citizens could afford. The Kenyan Business Community has complained on various occasions to the Kenyan Chamber of Commerce of the illegal commercial practices of the Somali Refugees in Kenya. All kinds of goods and merchandize make their way illegally into Kenya from Somalia and U.A.E. through the border and sea everyday. These goods are then sold in retail - by the refugees in the streets of Mombassa and Nairobi on deep discount as no tax was paid to the Kenyan Government. Mombassa, which is the second largest city in Kenya, is full of Somali hawkers, canvassers and solicitors. Each and every corner of the commercial district zone of Mombassa is occupied by Somali merchants, illegally selling goods that originated either from Somalia directly or Abu-Dhabi. If caught by the authority, he/she would pay a small amount of money - as bribery - to the officials, and in about an hour later, it is business as usual, back to the streets. It is rumoured that even the mayor of Mombassa has been "corrupted" after an undisclosed amount of money was collected from the Somali hawkers and presented to His Worship the Mayor as "a gift" from the "Somali Business Community" living in Mombassa. "Bribing government officials has become part of life in Kenya", confided Ali Salim, a Kenyan businessman. "It is what grinds our machinery. You have to realize that at the present rate of inflation, even the highest paid government official cannot make ends meet. They have to look for other sources of income to supplement their salaries, and this is very understandable, as far as I am concerned", concluded Mr Salim. Coupled with all these problems is Ford-Assili, the official opposition party of Kenya that persistently nags the ruling party, KANU and president Daniel Arap Moi of the myriad of social and economic problems that the country is facing today. Prominent among these is the daily influx of illegal immigrants and refugees from Somalia and Rwanda. Although President Moi's critics are quick to capitalize on the refugees issues despite considerable assistance that is received from the International Community to offset the cost of maintaining the camps and feeding the refugees, intense political pressure is gradually mounting, and it appears as if patience and time are the only two ingredients that are soon to be in short supply. The sooner Kenyan Government realizes this dilemma, the better would it be in a position to solve these problems once and for all. THE SSDF CONGRESS: STILL WAITING TO TAKE PLACE (SNU, Qardho/Toronto/Uppsala, August 9) - The power struggle between the two contenders for the chairmanship in SSDF has now kept hundreds of delegates waiting for weeks. It is widely believed that, when the elections finally take place, Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf will defeat the current chairman, General Mohamed Abshir Muse. Abshir, allegedly fearing that the electorate would favour his rival, is said to have stalled the congress by questioning the representativity of some of the delegates. It is apparent that one issue of contention, besides the differences regarding policy matters, was the polarization of General Abshir's Isa Mohamud/Musa Isa sub-clan vis-a-vis the rest of the clans of the Northeastern regions. Even within the Isa Mohamud themselves, delegates were divided into Abshir's Musa Isa and the more numerous Abokor Isa. On July 26, 1994, the Isimada (clan elders), who were called to settle the differences and disputes of the contestants, started their deliberations with the aid of a newly-established Secretariat. The discussions officially ended on August 2. Those present during the first day of the Isimada Conference and subsequent days were the various leadership contestants, the Organizing Committee of the SSDF Congress, the influential personalities of the Northeastern regions, delegates and observers from the Regions and from abroad. It was held in a very secretive and closed manner so as to enable real debate which is said to have been "harsh and unforgiving". The points discussed were differences of opinion regarding the accountability of all the authorities, regional reconciliation, the formation of Northeastern autonomy and the SSDF Congress and Constitution. According to an independent weekly of the region, Kaaha Bari, August 5, No 148, the first day of the deliberations was entirely devoted to the different opinions of the Isa Mohamud camp. On one side there were General Abshir and Colonel Hassan Abshir criticizing the Organizing Committee of the Congress. On the other side there were acting Governor of Nugaal Mohammed Haji Adam, Colonel Said Dhere and District Commissioner of Dongoray Ali Haji--all Isa Mohamud/Abokor Isa. Commentators argue that this indicates that General Abshir may have difficulties in controlling his own Isa Mohamud clan, let alone the leadership of the numerous Majerteen and Harti clans of the Northeastern regions. Kaaha Bari reports that following this meeting there were signs of diminishing conflict and even rapprochement between the erstwhile rivals. The final outcome of the 25 Isimada's hearings with the contestants is expected this week. ___________________________________________________________________ SNU is an entirely independent newsletter devoted to critical analysis of the political and humanitarian developments in Somalia and Somaliland. SNU is edited and published by Dr. Bernhard Helander, Uppsala University, Sweden. SNU is produced with support from the Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, Uppsala, Sweden. ____________________________________________________________________